The Benefits of Being More Active Are:

• You strengthen muscles that help you breathe.
• You become a better fat burner; you actually make more of the enzymes that burn fat in your body.
• You?ll have more energy.
• You?ll regulate your appetite better
• You will improve insulin sensitivity which helps you to burn calories easier rather than store them as fat.
• Your self-esteem will increase so you feel confident about the decisions you are making.
• Your tension and anxiety are more manageable so you make better food decisions.
• You decrease your risk of colon cancer and possibly other cancers.
• You may help retard the aging process of your body.
• You may increase your brain power.

Weight bearing and resistance exercise will:

• Help increase bone strength and prevent osteoporosis.
• Help you develop overall muscle strength.
• Increase basal metabolic rate so you burn more calories even while sleeping.
• Help keep you from falling.

The Specific Benefits to Your Heart Are:

• An increase in stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped out each time your heart beats).
• A decrease in heart rate and resting pulse (so the heart works less at rest time!)
• An increase in the amount of work you can do before getting chest pains if you have angina.
• Protection against rapid heart rate

Exercise affects other risk factors for heart disease by:

• Decreasing blood pressure.
• Decreasing the circulating blood fats (triglycerides).
• Decreasing weight around the middle.
• Increasing HDL, the good cholesterol.
• Helping with smoking cessation.
• Helping to control blood sugar.
• Relieving stress
• Altering a sedentary lifestyle.

By Nancy Kennedy, MS, RD, Cardiac Rehab Educator, Shelby Township, MI